'89 SE rear dampers. Are V8 stock dampers interchangeable?

[Hammer59]

Hi all.

Both my rear dampers are shot and I've had the offer of a pair of used dampers out of a mate's V8.  He replaced his with high-end adjustables.  It looks like replacement is pretty straightforward so won't have wasted much time if they turn out to be of no use.  Anyone with any knowledge in this area?  Cheers.

[Erikl]

They are the same dimensions.  I would give it a go.  The spring rates on the V8 are a little higher probably because the engine is heavier, the shock valving is probably a little differnt.  Its pretty easy to swap them out - give it a shot.

[Hammer59]

Thanks Erik.  That's what I was hoping to hear.  I'll give it a try.

[Erikl]

I should have also said - the V8 had stiffer sprigs and likely different shock valving was not just a slightly heavier motor, also more power, bigger wheels and tires, faster probably some other things.  

[drdoom]

Koni, who led the technology in damping for decades, wrote up a technical paper on setting double adjustable shocks typically found on pure race cars and the late Carroll Smith shared it in one of his "Prepare to ..."; Tune to ..."; "Engineer to Win" series of books. Great stuff for the devoted Lotus tuner in my opinion, BTW. In regard to damping in the simplest terms jounce ( or compression ) setting correlates primarily with management of unsprung weight, whereas rebound was more pertinent to corner entry response. Opinions on this from the more learned among us are welcome, my memory on the material hasn't had a refresh for some time. At any rate I suspect the V-8 dampers will be agreeable for any who prefer a tight handling Esprit over a cushy one.

Cheers  

[drdoom]

Hey Terry,

Trust you'll share your impressions once you've had shakedown time at the wheel.

Cheers

[Hammer59]

I've had the v8 shocks in the car for a few weeks now.  They are just in as a stop gap as my leaky adjustables are away in the big smoke (Auckland) waiting to get refurbished.  As Steve from SJ warned me, they are WAY too stiff for the SE.  Perfect for a track day but it really highlights how beautifully damped it was before - soaked up the bumps but great in the corners too.  It has to be said that the v8 shocks weren't in the best of condition, but they got me through the WOF (MOT).

I wouldn't advise anyone to change to v8 shocks for everyday driving.

My plan of action is to wait for the quote on the refurb.  If it's silly money I'll order a pair of new ones from Steve.

On a totally different note, I took my sunroof out for the first time today.  I know the previous owner had never taken it off so it would have been at least 25 years since it was off.  Was surprised that everything was in good nick.   Will take the beast out topless as soon as I get over covid.  At least it's given me time to catch up on a few little things on the Esprit.  Also had the wheels refurbed and painted gold a few weeks back.  Opinions?

[Bibs]

They look great! 

Did you work out how to fit the roof into the boot? 

[drdoom]

Gold on wheels works well in my opinion, smart accent to colours like red, black, BRG.

Thanks for the remarks on the V-8 dampers, makes clear sense to me. 

Cheers

[Hammer59]

8 hours ago, Bibs said:

They look great! 

Did you work out how to fit the roof into the boot? 

I considered it but that would have meant taking everything out of my boot, including the battery charger that was doing its thing at the time.  Also, my Phd in spatial 3-D geometry has lapsed.  Thought I'd save that challenge for another time.

[DanR]

On 18/07/2022 at 01:28, Bibs said:

They look great! 

Did you work out how to fit the roof into the boot? 

Upside down, back to front.

[Escape]

21 hours ago, DanR said:

Upside down, back to front.

Preferably while standing on one leg and reciting the sacred chant to make it fit. 😉

[ramjet]

Always a good idea to have a trusted yogi in attendance to help with calming.

[Hammer59]

On 19/07/2022 at 23:40, DanR said:

Upside down, back to front.

Only for us Antipodeans.